Stetson International Environmental Moot Court - European Rounds

The statement of the 2022 Stetson team from Kyiv-Mohyla Moot Court Society that has been the only team from Eastern Europe to participate in the competition.

Hello! We were going to represent Ukraine at the Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition this season. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible due to the aggression of the russian federation against our country, Ukraine.

Russia invaded our country in 2014. It occupied Crimea and territories on the east in Donbas and Luhansk regions. So we`ve already known how the second part of the Stetson Case works in practice.

Meanwhile, other places in Ukraine remained safe. So till 24th February we could not imagine that our preparation for the competition might be changed to hiding from the bomb and rocket strikes all around the country. Please do not worry: we are all safe. We had to leave our own houses and even our country in order to be safe.

Still, we cannot describe the pain we feel while observing how russian troops deprive millions of Ukrainians of their homes, how russian troops wipe off the land our cities - Mariupol, Volnovakha, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and many others, how russian army set hospitals and maternity houses on fire, how they kill our civilians and how russians kill our children.

Stetson is promoting the highest value of the civilized world that is care about the environment. During this war the russian federation has put at stake not only the lives and prosperity of the Ukrainians, but also the environmental safety of the whole Europe.

Till the 24th of February we used to plead about widespread, long-term and severe damage to the environment during armed conflict. Unfortunately, we could not even imagine that russia would try to cause such damage to our State. When you read about atrocities in doctrine, you never realize how horrible they are in real life. However, the occupiers continue destroying our homeland, debunking the prejudices that this world is finally peaceful.

Russia's attack on Ukraine is also an attack on the environment. From 2014 russia has caused an environmental disaster in Donbas. It is a coal region with numerous mines. As a result of armed activities in this area by 2021 39 mines were flooded. Mine water pollutes water in wells and reservoirs, leads to salinization and even soil failures.

In Ukraine there are 50 wetlands of international importance with a total area of 802,604 hectares. Right now, more than half of the Ramsar sites in Ukraine are used by russian armed forces during hostilities against Ukrainian people.

Russian soldiers set fire to numerous gas and oil stations, chemical plants and factories in Ukraine. Numerous intelligence reports from the US warn us about potential resort of Russia to chemical weapons against Ukraine that is strictly prohibited under international law, without even mentioning nuclear weapons possessed by the russian government.

Russian army has occupied Chornobyl and Zaporizhia nuclear power stations in order to blackmail the Ukrainian government and all the European leaders. Russians are ready to commit the most outrageous terroristic acts on any of these nuclear power stations that may be much worse than Chornobyl catastrophe.

These days Ukraine employs all the methods possible to stop the war and protect its citizens. The support of the international community is especially important for us in this regard. We ask you, the students from all over the world, legal and environmental scholars and practitioners to support Ukraine. Spread information about the war in Ukraine, participate in public events and meetings devoted to the war in Ukraine, support humanitarian and volunteer initiatives helping the Ukrainian army, civilians and asylum seekers, do whatever you can and deem necessary to support Ukraine.

As you see, both parts of this year's case of armed conflict resonate as strongly as possible with the events that Ukraine is currently experiencing. So we want you to defend your position as Ukraine would. Courageously, clearly and confidently.

We hope to see you soon and invite all of you to our peaceful, strong and beautiful capital of freedom - Ukraine.
Слава Україні! [Glory to Ukraine!] 🇺🇦
Kateryna Skichko, Masha Stolbova, Anastasia Kryshtanovych, Kateryna Bakai, Valentyna Danyliuk